How-To : Being Mindful

Last week, before our monthly Home-School Partnership meeting, a couple teachers gave a presentation about Mindfulness and how they are using the principles in school to help with behavior and learning.

"Mindfulness" means paying attention to what is happening in the PRESENT moment.

The first thing I thought of was, what great timing this was since my One Little Word for this year is "FOCUS". 

The teachers were instructed in how to use these practices and then taught fellow teachers in hopes of inspiring more teachers to use the principles of mindfulness in their classrooms.

In the classrooms, the kids are provided with thirteen "lessons" on different aspects of mindfulness, such as the Mindful Body Position.  This means they should push back from their desks, with eyes closed and being still.  The teachers said they practice this every day. . .it starts small, maybe 30 seconds or less.  And each child is encouraged to do their best. . .some kids can do 2 minutes, some only 10 seconds. . .and both are ok.  The key is owning it and paying attention to it - right in the moment.

After a lesson, there are jouranling prompts for the children to think about how they felt during the lesson.  The lessons include, Mindful Breathing, Thoughts, Heartfulness, Mindful Seeing,  Mindful Generosity, Mindful Gratefulness, Mindful Movement, Emotions, Body Scan Sensations, Mindful Eating, Mindfulness on the Playground, Mindful Quizzes and Tests, and the last lesson is putting everything in your Mindfulness Toolbox.

Imagine a classroom of second graders, all taking a mindful minute before a test. . .

While these practices are amazing in the classroom, they apply to all of us, in our everyday lives as well.  We are so busy multi-tasking and jumping ahead to the next challenge, that we often times forget to slow down and enjoy what is happening right now.  Being mindful of our bodies and our thoughts.

So today, take just a minute, and think about right now.  Pay attention to your breathing, and check in with yourself.  A mini-meditation if you will.  A mindful meditation.

catch you soon -